Lon Po Po: A Red Riding-Hood Story From China

Lon Po Po: A Red Riding-Hood Story From China by Ed Young 32 pages

In this version of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf sees that three young girls are left alone while their mother is off to visit their grandma (Po Po). The wolf tricks the girls into thinking he is actually Po Po to get inside. Once the eldest daughter discovers the Po Po they have let inside is actually a wolf, she comes up with a plan to get rid of the wolf and save themselves.

Both the western and Chinese version of this tale are pretty grim.

Chasing Dragons: the True Story of the Piasa, by Mark and Laurie Nickless

Chasing Dragons: the True Story of the Piasa, by Mark and Laurie Nickless, 106 pages

This is a really interesting book of local interest.  Mark and Laurie Nickless hypothesize that the "Piasa bird" (painted on a cliff face in Alton, IL) was actually two Chinese dragons, painted by Chinese explorers.  The authors don't have a ton of proof for their theory, and the illustrations within leave ALOT to be desired, but it is quite provocative and really makes you wonder.